Last November, WW ran a contest: If you signed up for the program by mid-December or invited a friend who then signed up, you would be entered in a contest to win a trip for two to Maui. The selling point, beyond the trip to Hawaii, is that you and your guest would get to have lunch with Oprah. Those 10 winners and their guests visited Oprah at her home last Friday! People has more:
A hearty coconut water cheers to losing weight — and celebrating it with Oprah!
Ten WW members got to share the toast of a lifetime on Friday after being flown to Maui to spend the day — and share a meal — at Winfrey’s private home on the Hawaiian island.
Selected as part of a contest, the WW members were all at different stages in their weight loss journeys. One woman has lost 145 lbs., while another lost 9 lbs., but regardless of how far they have come, they’re all feeling healthier.
Winfrey, who has lost 42 lbs. herself since she became a shareholder in the company back in 2015, said that she loved meeting people who are as enthusiastic and “happy” about the program as she has been.
“The highlight for me is being able to have people express their sense of celebration and pride in their accomplishment,” the media mogul, 65, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle and to see how that lifestyle and taking steps to change the way you eat and how accountability for that eating changes everything about your life … WW is actually happening and manifesting in people’s lives in a way that makes a difference.”
The winners and guests got to meet Oprah’s horses, go swimming in her pool, and chat with Oprah after they’d all eaten together. Oprah said “that it was a major moment” to invite strangers to her home:
“This is one of the places that brings the most joy to me,” she says. “I actually have great reverence for this space and … I don’t share this with a lot of people. Some of my close, close, closest friends have been seated at this table. But l thought particularly for WW members who have been on this journey of self-improvement, self-evolvement, self-betterment for themselves that it would be a great reward to experience this because what’s really exquisite about this property is not the house, but it’s the sacredness of the land.”
Lucky them! I’d absolutely have lunch with Oprah; no one would have to ask me twice. If I were Oprah, though, I’d definitely be hesitant about inviting strangers to my home on the off-chance that some people would want to report back to the masses about the contents of my medicine cabinet or pantry. It sounds like she’s really happy that she hosted this gathering, and I hope that everyone had a great time.
I watched the video that Oprah posted on Instagram, taken as the group had just finished their “most fantastic lunch” (that Oprah said was probably no more than 8 WW points). She said that they were joined by butterflies and deer, too, because who doesn’t want to have lunch with Oprah? I was a bit distracted by what sounded like other chatter and then camera shutters, so I hope that the group did get some private time where they weren’t being observed by (I assume) WW folks, and possibly(?) some of the team at O.
I was just talking with a friend earlier about the policing that happens around people’s bodies, we were talking about women’s bodies in particular, and comments that people make about others’ weight. I’ll say that I’m glad that the WW program is working for Oprah (and for the contest winners). I know people who’ve tried the program and felt that it was successful, and others who’ve disliked it. Everybody is different, everybody’s vision of who they are at their healthiest, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, is different, so if a program like WW is a part of that plan, that’s fabulous. But, if it’s not, that’s fabulous, too.
photos credit: WENN and via Instagram
Oh man those people are lucky! What a fun experience.
I’ve been “doing” WW for a few months now and I put it in quotes because I have not been consistent (right now I don’t think I’ve logged on for two weeks, between vacation and such.) But, I can def see how it would be helpful for some people and less helpful for others.
Lucky them!
Good for you, @Becks1. I’m just finishing my second week and have been really pleased so far. Not sure I’ve lost anything yet, but it feels good to be taking control. (I really needed a reset – my clothes have been sending me warning signals for awhile now that it would be new wardrobe time if I didn’t do something.)
Curious about how vacation made it hard for you to keep up.
Because I just didn’t track or log because I didn’t want to, lol.
I’ve been slacking on WW for the past 2 months because vacations and a work conference but I need to get back ASAP to at least get rid of the 10lbs I gained thanks to the booze, fried chicken (vacay was a 3wks roadtrip down to NOLA), deserts and sitting in a car for so long. I’ve been keeping track of my exercising and I’ve been good at staying active but yeah, I need to be serious about the food log part again (I pay for it after all!)
I gotta say, I often get angry at WW’s point distribution though. Hypertransformed food has often a lower point counts than your homemade meal and I totally disagree with that. But overall it’s a good program to keep you aware of what you eat.
Would it be fun though? Her house is probably so big that guests only get to see the ‘official living room’ and guest bathroom. And they probably saw Oprah only for the duration of the lunch. Which is great i guess, i just think about what if you are sitting way far away from her.
Yes it was. They went horse back-riding, swimming, and enjoyed her ranch (of course, I’m sure they were only contained to certain parts). She also had a dinner for them and a party. They were dancing. It looked like a great night!
Kool
I think it’s helpful if you need help with discipline and structure. I like how the program makes you sit down and think about what you want to eat, how this will fit into your budget and makes you plan accordingly. I need that because left to my own devices things derail five minutes after breakfast 🙂
I also like the community aspect of the meetings. I have gotten some great tips there.
If you’re more of a loner and can discipline yourself you’re probably better off doing it by yourself and saving the money of course.
i watched the video too and got so much joy. She is a woman that is enjoying her success in such a fabulous way.
Yeah I’ve been subjected to the body policing thing for sure when I started working out a few years ago and some girlfriends pretended to be horrified (even though my bmi is around a solid 22 and totally normal).
I do have a friend at work though who’s a vegan and who just doesn’t eat enough (I know veganism can be more or less healthy depending on the person) and I have to bite my tongue not to comment on it, she’s extremely skinny and very fatigued all the time, which affects me too since I work closely with her. She runs out of steam hours before we’re finished work and it really annoys me. But I don’t know that I want to be that person who’s like “girl just eat something for christ sakes!!!”🧐 I don’t think she would take it well lol
That would be my personal version of an upscale Hell…
I’d rather be able to observe and snoop like the kid that broke into the palace and went through Victoria’s stuff.
In that beautiful picture of everyone seated at the table, with flowers everywhere, Oprah looks like a goddess or Mother Nature.
Food is how I cope with stress. I am happy I didn’t choose drugs, alcohol, gambling. Like, you have got to look on the bright side. However, WW makes me nervous sometimes, taking away my calming foods. But I am starting to think I need help in making better decisions. Articles like this give me pause for thought.
Yes food is my go when i’m stressed. It makes so irritated when people say calories in, calories out etc etc. It’s the emotional part that’s hard, coping w emotions by eating. People who are so self righteous about it obvs dont have that issue.
I don’t like WW. They change the point system often enough that you have to continue being a member in order to lose weight. It’s not sustainable if you don’t keep paying for it. I lost weight with WW years ago but got tired of being a member. There are free apps that are as effective; if you’re determined and dedicated those work just as well.